I used to think minimalist logos were boring until a client meeting in a Portland coffee shop

I was showing a client some logo ideas for his new bike shop, and I had this one super simple design, just two lines that looked like a bike frame. I thought it was too plain, so I was about to skip it. But he pointed right at it and said, 'That's the one. It's clean, I can see it on a patch or a sign, and it makes me think of riding, not just looking at a picture of a bike.' We were at that place on Alberta Street, the one with the big windows. Him saying that stuck with me because I was so focused on making things 'interesting' with more details, but he wanted something that would work anywhere, even super small. It totally changed how I start my logo sketches now. Has anyone else had a client point out the obvious thing you were overthinking?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliverw461mo ago

That Alberta Street spot is nice, but honestly I still see way too many logos that are just vague shapes now.

claire9581mo ago

Those vague shapes are the logos.

-1

willow2441mo ago

That coffee shop is on NE Alberta, not just Alberta Street. It's a small detail but locals pick up on it. I get what you mean about vague shapes, but a good minimalist logo isn't vague, it's specific. It's the difference between a random squiggle and those two lines that clearly read as a bike frame.